The Day The Eagle Cried
by WolfSpiritFlower
Summary: In honor to those who lost their lives on the fateful day so many years ago,September 11th, 2001.Let us bow our heads and pray that they make it to eternal bliss and may their memories never be forgotten.Bless their souls and never loose hope. 'Day is done,gone the sun, From the lakes,from the hills,from the skies, all is well,safely rest God is Nigh'- from 'Taps'. R/R


_ In honor to those who lost their lives on the fateful day so many years ago, September 11th, 2001. In honor of those who went to war to protect our homes and our lives from another event like that. Let us bow our heads and pray that they make it to eternal bliss and may their memories never be forgotten. Bless their souls and never loose hope._

* * *

''Jack, why are those humans all holding candles and crying?'' Arcee asked from her alt mode. They were driving through Jasper and a lot of the population had gathered in front of the community hall holding candles and mumbling prayers, many people even outright bawling.

''Well, it's a sad story really. I'll tell you when we get to base'' he said sadly, looking at the crowd. His mom had divorced his own dad when he came back from over seas. He thought back to that day when he was four or five years old. He, his mom, and his dad were all sitting on the couch, watching the news with horror filled faces as the planes crashed into the twin towers. He remembered seeing the papers and the people falling down, jumping out of the building in hopes to save their lives. The pain, the horror, the grief, the fear America had felt that day. An event that struck the United States in its very core. No one had felt quite the same afterwards. Now, so many years later, most had forgotten the feel of love and fear that drew families together that day, and for a few years after. Many didn't think twice about the thousands who had died, were dying, or were going to die protecting the country. But there were some who would always cherish their own families and send prayers to those who had been shaken that day. So much misery, so much pain. When America declared war on Afghanistan, his dad had been one of the first to sign up to protect their country. His dad had always had a smile on his face, but when he was determined, he showed the signs of leadership. Jack found himself comparing his old father with Optimus, how uncannily similar they were. For five years his dad was deployed, and he didn't come home until a bomb had went off a hair to close to him, the shrapnel and debris completely severing his legs. He had come home changed, his calm and caring demeanor replaced with that of a mad man. He started drinking, he started doing drugs, and when June had finally convinced him to go to the doctor, they confirmed her fears. He was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 'PTSD' for short. He went to counseling for a good while and had finally started shaping up. But then, he woke up one night, still in a dream like state, grabbed the pistol they kept for protection and pulled it on Jack and his mom. He snapped out of it right before he pulled the trigger. He sat down on the floor, crying like a lost child and that was the last straw. June filed for a divorce, and they had left Las Vegas, moving to the quiet community of Jasper. It was later seen on the news that his dad had committed suicide. When Jack finished reliving those times, they were at the base. Raf and Miko were already inside, as were his mom and agent Fowler. Jack hopped off Arcee and then proceeded to descend onto the human couch. Miko's face was smeared with tears, and Raf had a solemn expression.

''We wanted to wait for you two before we told them'' Raf said. Jack nodded. Then they turned to face the bots.

''I'm sure you realized that the human race is currently engaged in war as well?'' Jack asked.

''Really?'' Ratchet asked, new to this information.

''Have you noticed the strange behavior of most humans today?'' Miko asked. The all nodded. They'd went on patrol in different sectors of the country, but almost everywhere people of all ages were holding candles and just standing about with no purpose.

''Yes. What was with that?'' Smokescreen asked irritatedly. They had clogged the roads up and it had really slowed his travel speed down. He'd blown the horn rapidly, and they looked at him with the most offended faces ever. He hadn't known how disrespectful he'd truly been until Jack started telling the story of what today meant to America.

''On September 11th, 2001, a group of terrorists high-jacked two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, also known as The Twin Towers. A suicide attack. Within hours, both towers collapsed with debris and the resulting fires causing partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the Towers, as well as major damage to ten other large surrounding structures. A third plane targeted the Pentagon, the... What's it called?'' he asked Fowler.

''The Pentagon is the headquarters to the United States Department of Defense'' he answered.

''Right. The plane was only semi-successful, succeeding in destroying the western side but nothing more. A fourth plane had targeted Washington DC, but crashed before making it there. The group's leader, Osama bin Laden originally denied having anything to do with the attacks, but in 2004 he claimed responsibility for the attacks, and then America launched war on them, in Afghanistan. The war raged for years, and it only recently ended two years ago, on May 2nd, 2011. During the war though, tens of thousands of people died, not to mention the almost three thousand from the Twin Tower attacks and The Pentagon attack. It was a sad day in history and one of the most brutal wars in history. And so, every eleventh on the month of September, most Americans bow their heads , light candles, and pray that the souls lost in war make it safely to eternal bliss.'' He finished. June walked over and hugged him, knowing the painful memories the day brought back. She reached into a grocery bag and pulled out five small white candles for the humans and seven larger blue candles for the bots. She set them in each of the bots hands, even though they were tiny. Their cyan blue eyes glittered with sadness and understanding, wanting to participate in grieving for the lost souls. Fowler pulled out a lighter and lit his own candle, then used the burning wick of his candle to light June's, and June light Jack's, and so on and so on. The humans still had to light the candles for the bots though. They all sat in a rough circle and bowed their heads. Ratchet took a small minute to turn all the lights and monitors off, so that only the candles provided light. June sighed quietly. Then, she took a deep breath and began praying out loud. The bots didn't know what to make of it, but the words seemed natural to her.

''Dear Lord, bless the souls that were lost and taken away from their lives prematurely.

Bless the souls of the wicked, and hope they learn the right path.

Bless the souls of the young, who still ask when their Daddy or their Mommy is coming home.

Bless the souls of the young, who will never be, because their parents never had them.

Bless the souls of the elderly that roam from street to street, not knowing when their next meal will be, or if they'll be warm in the winter.

Bless the souls of the elderly who have scars from the past and live each day in grief.

Bless the souls of all, and hope that some day we may all live in peace.

And, most of all, Thank You for blessing us each day with life and love, for each breath we take is a gift.

Amen'' she finished, and everyone chorused her with 'Amen's of their own. The candles flickered breezily, the small flame licking at the air. The humans started humming a slow, steady song and soon started singing the words to a song they'd heard at military memorials.

_''Day is done, gone the sun,_  
_ From the lake, from the hill,_  
_ From the sky._  
_ All is well, safely rest,_  
_ God is nigh._

_Thanks and praise, For our days,_  
_ 'Neath the sun, 'Neath the stars,_  
_ 'Neath the sky,_  
_ As we go, This we know,_  
_ God is nigh._

_Fades the light; And afar_  
_ Goeth day, And the stars_  
_ Shineth bright,_  
_ Fare thee well; Day has gone,_  
_ Night is on._

_Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,_  
_ May the soldier or sailor,_  
_ God keep._  
_ On the land or the deep,_  
_ Safe in sleep._

_Love, good night, Must thou go,_  
_ When the day, And the night_  
_ Need thee so?_  
_ All is well. Speedeth all_  
_ To their rest''_

When they finished singing, the air had a somber but also peaceful air. And then, as the candles slowly burned out, the world finally did sleep the night. For tomorrow is a new day, and they needed their sleep.

* * *

_The song is 'Taps' for those of you who don't know. I know a lot might find this story offending because of its religious properties, but I don't care. I hope someone likes this though._


End file.
